Abstract
COVID-19 is recognized to be the most impactful pandemic crisis on social customs, policy-making, and economic activities in the modern history of humankind. The insurance industry especially, both life insurance and general insurance, was highly impacted by COVID-19. In this paper, we examined government responses to COVID-19, changes in the social environment and consumer behavior since COVID-19, and new waves among insurance sales, insurance products and insurance consumers in Japan, China, and South Korea. In respect to changes in insurance distribution channels, as the risk of infection increased, the selling of insurance products via non-face-to-face distribution channels has been increasing in all three countries. Changes in insurance products in all three countries show product changes such as the development of new special COVID-19 products. Also, since COVID-19, there have been two notable factors that have had a high impact on insurance consumers in the three countries – income inequality and the digital divide.